{"id":4938,"date":"2017-03-13T07:34:07","date_gmt":"2017-03-13T07:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/adiwiraku-the-reviews-are-in\/"},"modified":"2017-03-13T07:34:07","modified_gmt":"2017-03-13T07:34:07","slug":"adiwiraku-the-reviews-are-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/adiwiraku-the-reviews-are-in\/","title":{"rendered":"#Adiwiraku: The reviews are in!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Based on the true story of Teach For Malaysia Alumna, Cheryl Fernando, and how her students\u00a0beat the odds at a choral speaking competition,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adiwirakuthemovie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adiwiraku<\/a>\u00a0has been selected as a Finalist at the Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne 2017 and a semi-finalist at the Equality International Film Festival 2016.\u00a0It\u2019s been 5 days since the movie opened in over 50\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/teachformalaysia\/posts\/10154119667076370\">cinemas nationwide<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 our Fellows and Alumni share what they think of\u00a0Adiwiraku, plus scenes from the movie that happened to them in real-life!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2812\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.teachformalaysia.org\/blog\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?resize=1000%2C598\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?w=1740&amp;ssl=1 1740w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?resize=300%2C179&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?resize=768%2C459&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?resize=1024%2C612&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Adiwiraku-review.png?resize=502%2C300&amp;ssl=1 502w\" alt=\"#Adiwiraku review\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a good movie and I can relate to it because I was once a teacher\u00a0\u2013 and it\u2019s a movie about a teacher!\u201d \u2013\u00a0<strong>Safwan Yusof, 2014 Alumnus<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, I did cry, just that no one knows! This movie is very\u00a0easy to relate to if you\u2019re a teacher, especially if you\u2019re a Teach For Malaysia Fellow. I relate to\u00a0the character Constant Wong, because\u00a0of all the times I tried to support Sharon (another Fellow at my school) during\u00a0all her choral speaking training sessions.\u201d \u2013\u00a0<strong>Wong Theen Yew, 2014 Alumnus<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were some parts that reminded me of my students, and I cried. Every Friday we also had ice cream sessions, where the kids who attended training sessions 100% would get ice cream. I love the movie.\u201d\u00a0<strong>\u2013 Bavani\u00a0Subramaniam, 2014 Alumna<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust like in the movie, in real life\u00a0we faced the same issues \u2013 getting 35 students to join the competition, and there are students who suddenly leave or join in. All the drama was the same!\u00a0There was one scene where the conductor stormed off; our conductor stormed off during practice before too!\u201d\u00a0<strong>\u2013 Sharon Soh, 2014 Alumna<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-video fb_iframe_widget fb_iframe_widget_fluid_desktop\" data-allowfullscreen=\"true\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/muhamadsafwan.my\/videos\/10212433116161742\/\"><iframe class=\"\" title=\"fb:video Facebook Social Plugin\" src=\"https:\/\/web.facebook.com\/v2.3\/plugins\/video.php?allowfullscreen=true&amp;app_id=249643311490&amp;channel=https%3A%2F%2Fstaticxx.facebook.com%2Fconnect%2Fxd_arbiter.php%3Fversion%3D45%23cb%3Df2c0b6c30533fd%26domain%3Dtemp.teachformalaysia.org%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftemp.teachformalaysia.org%252Ff3d85d8adbf8e4%26relation%3Dparent.parent&amp;container_width=640&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmuhamadsafwan.my%2Fvideos%2F10212433116161742%2F&amp;locale=en_US&amp;sdk=joey\" name=\"f260af0d287d6b8\" width=\"1000px\" height=\"1000px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><em>Safwan, Theen Yew, Bavani and Sharon joined the Teach For Malaysia Fellowship in 2014<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the opening scene of the school highlighted a new school year, it sent chills down my\u00a0spine. It was the all-too-familiar feeling I haven\u2019t felt in a while now. The title literally translates as\u00a0\u2018My Superheroes\u2019, which carries a deeper and heavier meaning than your average superheroes that exist in imaginary worlds. Heroes really are the ordinary people around us who are doing more than what they think\u00a0possible. The movie felt so real, that heroes can be literally anywhere only if we take time to observe and understand more. In the movie, the kids were the heroes for the teacher and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p>Watching the film pulled me in all sorts of directions. It was already surreal to see a film about a Teach For Malaysia Fellow on the\u00a0big screen, let alone to see friends get together specifically to watch this film, and to relate so much to it was another out-of-body experience\u00a0\u2013 especially since\u00a0I was a coach for my school\u2019s\u00a0choral speaking team in 2015 with another Teach For Malaysia Fellow\u00a0who went through the same challenges with absenteeism and helping 36 kids memorise an original script word for word, syllable by syllable\u2026 and we also won\u00a05th place, after finally sending a team to compete for the first time in years in school history!<\/p>\n<p>Just watching it all unfold on screen made me question my reality. I remember how absorbed and almost obsessed I was with the things that happened in school. It made me think of the things I wanted to do but never did. It made me remember how happy I could be after a day\u2019s work in my own \u2018<em>kampung<\/em>\u2018<em>\u00a0<\/em>school.\u00a0It forced me to reflect and made me remember the crucial extreme happy and sad moments during\u00a0my teaching Fellowship in Sarawak.<\/p>\n<p>Of all the stories shared in the film, I am pretty sure it was only just a fragment of what the real Cikgu\u00a0Cheryl went through. The movie had a specific story to tell, and that condensed the drama and emotions into only a crack in the wall. Any teacher would be able to relate one way or another. Suddenly, we feel warm strength slowly flowing back into our veins realising that we\u2019re in schools fighting for the same cause in a way that was our own.<\/p>\n<p>It makes you think \u2013 if there was anything significant moment in your time as a teacher\u00a0to be made into a movie or a book or an animation, what would it be? What\u00a0would it look like? What were the values that you held throughout, making the choices you made in classrooms; in school meetings; in meetings with parents; in community visits? It makes you think of the challenges you went through and how there are lots of parallels between one teacher\u2019s life and another.\u201d\u00a0<strong>\u2013\u00a0Huda Nejim, 2015 Alumna<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2817\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.teachformalaysia.org\/blog\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?resize=1000%2C575\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?w=1080&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?resize=300%2C173&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?resize=768%2C442&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?resize=1024%2C589&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o.jpg?resize=522%2C300&amp;ssl=1 522w\" alt=\"16665371_1131839166938102_5556599684280143189_o\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><em>Huda joined the Teach For Malaysia Fellowship in 2015 and taught in a high-need school in Miri, Sarawak<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatching\u00a0<span class=\"highlightNode\">Adiwiraku<\/span>\u00a0was like watching my own kids in action, watching my first few years of teaching on the big screen. The things Teacher Cheryl says in the movie were all the things I know I have said and I know a lot of my teacher friends have said. But it\u2019s more than just a story about teaching and choral speaking. It brings you to a real life setting, shows you how some of our kids live and learn, shows you how we can do our part to help, support and encourage our teacher<span class=\"text_exposed_show\">s on the ground who work hard every day trying to give all the opportunities our kids deserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"text_exposed_show\">\n<p>I really truly hope everyone who reads this would find the time to catch\u00a0<span class=\"highlightNode\">Adiwiraku<\/span>. You\u2019ll be inspired, moved and fall in love with the characters (who are Cheryl\u2019s actual students who got to play themselves!). It\u2019s one of those movies where you\u2019ll leave teary-eyed, but hopeful. It\u2019s one of those movies that left me wanting to do more.\u00a0Catch it before it leaves the cinema!\u201d\u00a0<strong>\u2013 Alina Amir, 2013 Alumna<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2819\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.teachformalaysia.org\/blog\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=1000%2C667\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?w=2146&amp;ssl=1 2146w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=960%2C640&amp;ssl=1 960w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?resize=450%2C300&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/temp.teachformalaysia.org\/home\/teachfor\/public_html\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Alina-Amir.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w\" alt=\"Alina Amir\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><em>Alina\u00a0joined the Teach For Malaysia Fellowship in 2013, and co-founded Arus Academy with 3 other Teach For Malaysia Alumni.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t gotten a chance to catch Adiwiraku\u00a0yet, go book your tickets today\u00a0\u2013 show your support for local films, and the cikgus of Malaysia!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8t0HeJVBfI8?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-ratio=\"0.593\" data-width=\"1000\" data-height=\"593\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Based on the true story of Teach For Malaysia Alumna, Cheryl Fernando, and how her students\u00a0beat the odds at a choral speaking competition,\u00a0Adiwiraku\u00a0has been selected as a Finalist at the&#8230;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127,103,113,130,116,115,124],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4938","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-alumni","7":"category-impact","8":"category-movement","9":"category-opinion","10":"category-student","11":"category-themes","12":"category-thought-leadership"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4938\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teachformalaysia.org\/my\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}